HEKAMTHO

SYRIAN ORTHODOX THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL

‘Values and Virtues’

The Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary

Udayagiri, Pin - 682314
Ph: 0484 - 2748079, 2748072, 2748061
web: www.msotseminary.edu.in
email: msotseminary@yahoo.co.in
editor.hekamtho@gmail.com
About the cover painting...

||Theo-phostic Prayer||
by Ajiyan George | Acrylic on Canvas | 40x60 | 2007 |
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - John 8:31-32
This painting is about the eternal fight which is happening inside a mind.
No one is free from this dual between the light and darkness, divine and
evil, protective Holy Spirit (dove) and predatory evil (eagle) etc.
The word theophostic comes from the Greek word theo (God) and quasi-
Greek phostic (light). Whenever someone is mindful and engaged in
meditation, he/she is essentially in a state of theo-phostic, i.e., bringing
divine light to the inner conscience.
Mindful Prayer enables us to expose the truth that we are not eternally
imprisoned for our sinful thoughts and actions. Instead God can and will
forgive us and cleanse us from all of our sins.
 Editorial

In the lives of Christians when bad things happen it is viewed

as an opportunity to learn to trust God and to rely on him. It is an
opportunity to represent divine values and virtues to the world,
personally, politically, and socially.
In this regard, the current issue of Hekamtho tries to elaborate
upon few examples of how to uphold the Christian values and virtues
especially during these difficult times. Also to strengthen our faith
in God who will help us to tide over the pandemic and the miseries
caused by it.
In the first article, Easter: Celebration of Integral Spiritual Life
and Bliss of Relationship by Shibu Cherian, it explains the meaning
and significance of Easter in the midst of a world torn by epidemics,
tormented by refugees, broken by the disasters of climate change,
fragmented by wars and terrorism, divided by disputes and bruised by
poverty. He underlines the fact that Easter is not merely a celebration
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is actually the opening to the
joy of life, the bliss of relationships and the experience of oneness
in God.
The second article, Hosting the Outsider and Dancing with
Diversity: Reading Genesis 14:18-20 through the Post-exilic Eyes
by Jobymon Scaria provides an indepth analysis of Genesis 14:18-
20 and offers an alternate reading of the passage against the post-
exilic contexts.
 Susan Thomas, in her article Colonial Enterprise and the Re-
‘forming’ of the Syrian Christians of Kerala, illustrates the social,
economic and cultural impacts of Colonial period over the value-
system of Syrian Christians in Kerala.
The fourth article, Patristic period in order to ponder over the
early Christian another ‘Food’, R. Yaqub al-Bikaadi discusses
the food of obedience. He also addresses the spiritual poverty that
comes with disobedience, and argues that the church today has been
holding back on another dimension of food.
Percy Arfeen, in her article Christianity in the first Five Centuries
of its Existence: An Overview investigates the relationship between
the spread and growth of Christianity and the geo-politics in the
early ages of Christianity.
The Theopolitics of Vaccinations by Leyanna Susan George
explains the role of religious politics in the health care system. It also
investigates how religious factors operate through various behavioral
and psychosocial constructs to affect health status through proposed
mechanisms that link religion and health.
The final article, Reunion of Joseph and his brothers: Narrative
Analysis of Gen 42: 1 to 12 by Eldho MC provides an exegetical
insight into the reconciliation of Jacob’s sons. It illustrates the tale
of a man who chooses to reject the empty revenge of bitterness and
embraces the benefits of suffering. Here, suffering is not a strange
occurrence, but rather viewed as a sign of God’s work in our lives.
Hope this issue of Hekamtho benefits you to understand few
examples of value and virtue based living in order to deepen the
trust in God even in the midst of these unbearable circumstances.
- Fr. Dr. Ajiyan George
Editor
 Contents

Easter- Celebration of Integral Spiritual Life 7

- Shibu Cherian

Hosting the Outsider and Dancing with Diversity: Reading 22

Genesis 14:18-20 through the Post-exilic Eyes
- Jobymon Scaria

Colonial Enterprise and the Re-‘forming’ of the Syrian 36

Christians of Kerala - Susan Thomas

Patristic Period in Order to Ponder Over the Early 49

Christian Another ‘Food’ - Ryan Yaqub al- Bikandi

Christianity in the First Five Centuries of its Existence: 62

An Overview - Percy Arfeen

The Theopolitics of Vaccinations 74

- Leyanna Susan George

Reunion of Joseph and his Brothers: Narrative Analysis of 79

Genesis 42: 1-12 - Eldho Malayil
62 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

Christianity in the First Five Centuries of its

Existence: An Overview
Percy Arfeen1
It is undoubtedly challenging to outline the history of a topic
such as „Christianity‟, not only because it is a world religion with
presently over 2.4 billion followers, but also because the accounts
of its initial years are torn with debates comprising of extremely
opposing schools of thought. This ranges from factions who
regard the scriptures „the word of God‟ and therefore a sin to
question them, to those who question the very existence of Christ,
to others who attempt to understand „Christianity‟ just like any
other event in history, placing it within the broader geo-politics of
the context of the time, which in this case, is the gradually
1
Ms. Percy Arfeen is a doctoral researcher at Centre for Religious Studies (CERES),
Ruhr-Universitӓt Bochum, Germany. She has submitted an initial version of this
article as an assignment for the course “Catholic Religious Frontiers in India and Asia
(16th – 18th centuries CE)” during my Masters (Semester II) at Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi.
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 63

declining empire of Rome, one of the most powerful empires in

antiquity. Considering the range of aspects, a multitude of views
is of course, granted; however, due to a limited scope of this
paper, I will focus primarily on Western Christianity and discuss
two diverging schools of thoughts- first, the emergence of
Christianity as a result of a prolonged struggle against Roman
authority and second, a deliberate architecture of Christianity as a
strategy of the Roman Empire to quell what seemed to be never-
ending rebellions in Judaea. It is interesting to be noted that in
both the cases we look at Christianity from the lenses of the
victors- in the first case, Pauline Christianity which emerged
victorious from amongst many sects, and in the second, as a ploy
of the Flavian Dynasty to successfully curb the Jewish population
by granting them the long awaited Messiah, but one that the
Romans engineered.
Contemporary scholars agree that Christianity did not emerge
as a monolithic distinct identity but rather quite the reverse- a
multitude of „cults‟ and varied (sometimes even contradictory)
beliefs, which overtime got culminated under the umbrella term
„Christianity‟2, one of the unifying (as well as dividing) factors
being the centrality of Jesus Christ. The existence of Christ has
continued to be a subject of ceaseless debates amongst scholars
because there are no sources contemporary to his time that
mention him. As Hastings states “The fact that he wrote nothing,
and that nothing we now possess was written to record his life
until some 40 years after his death, both increases the mystery in
the figure of Jesus and permits a pluriformity of interpretation”
(Hastings ed., 1999:2). Over a period of time, it is the letters of
Paul that seem to take ground as more than half of the New
Testament ultimately echoes his writings, so much so, that
authors as the likes of Karen Armstrong have gone to the extent

2
“In about 187 C.E. Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons) listed about twenty varieties of
Christianity; in about 384 C.E. Epiphanius counted eighty… Christian believers were
deserting to novel sects” (Durant,1935:616); also reproduced in Kimrey, R. (2006:
241) and Andrews, E. (2017: 43).
64 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

of calling Jesus the source of Paul‟s religious experience

(Armstrong, 1999[1993]: 107).
Paul (originally Saul), is one of the most decisive figures
behind the popularisation of Christianity into the gentile world, so
crucial, that some even argue that there would be no Christianity
without him. As a Roman citizen, he was initially involved with
the persecution of the Christians but after his very famous vision
on the road to Damascus, he became Paul and travelled
extensively around the Mediterranean preaching his version of
Jesus. Scholars again differ greatly in accounting this event, some
going to extent of calling it a mere solar mirage and not God‟s
appearance, but validation or invalidation of popularly accepted
events is not the aim of this paper. Irrespective of our standpoint
regarding this, we cannot ignore the importance of Paul in
spreading what he believed in. Being a Roman citizen, he was
allowed to travel all around the empire without hindrance until
the mishap of Rome in 64 CE (the great fire that wiped off about
70% of the city‟s buildings) when Nero, the then emperor needed
a scapegoat and blamed it on the Christians as having infuriated
the gods. As Ermatinger states “Nero proclaimed that the fire had
been started by a new insidious cult, the Christians, and ordered
that Christianity be outlawed… illegal and punishable by
death…numerous Christians were captured and executed”
(Ermatinger, 2007:67). Equally indispensable was Paul‟s strategic
selection of sites to preach, which remarkably influenced the
growth of the early Christian converts.3 This was facilitated by
certain changes that were already occurring in the social structure,
viz. the familiarity of the people with the idea of conversion,
which was otherwise considered odd. As Martin Goodman states

3
Dr. Mark Wilson has worked extensively in the field along with the collaboration of
various Archaeologists. Two of such locations are the city of Ephesus (the Temple of
Ardemus and the city theatre) and the city of Cappadocia (safe house of the early
Christians) researched by archaeologists, Dr. Julian Bennett and Dr.Veronica Kalas
respectively.
“The First Christians”, Lost Worlds, The History Channel: Atlantic Productions,
originally aired on September 18, 2006: USA
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 65
“This custom was an oddity in the ancient world, for no other
people is recorded into which it was possible to enter simply by
self-definition… proselytism was to provide an important model
for the growth of the early Church.” (Hastings ed., 1999:13).
Traditionalist views claim that the Jews of the diaspora proved to
be an important section of the newly converted Christians as it
was perhaps easier to proselytise them as they were regarded „not
much Jewish‟ in the ethical sense. However, recent scholars
working on early Christianity, as the likes of sociologist Rodney
Stark, raises concerns of oversimplifying this historical
phenomenon. Although the Jewish diaspora did indeed prove to
be important places for Christian conversion and places like Asia
Minor and North Africa were in fact where the earliest Christian
churches and Christian communities appeared; archaeologists
also show that several large synagogues continued to function
well through the popularisation of Christianity (Stark, 1997: 50).
What is imperative to realize, is therefore, not an „either or‟
outlook but really a deeper understanding on the multifaceted
networks of relationships between communities, as notions like
„Christian synagogues‟ and „Jewish-Christianity‟ continued as
late as the 5th century CE (Stark, 1997:49). What also needs to be
realised is the regional variations in terms of extents of
acceptability, outright rejections, as well as possible continuities
of beliefs and practices across the Jewish diaspora.
Prevalent prophesies could have definitely influenced some
(if not all) of the early conversions. Firstly, Jews had a long
tradition of a messiah who would appear at the moment of trouble
and save the kingdom of Judaea. The attack of Titus Flavian,
which ultimately climaxed with the demolition of the temple of
Jerusalem hence came to be interpreted as the coming of the end
of the world. As Smith states “finis hujus mundi, interitus
mundi…that is, the end of this world and the beginning of a new
one, would follow immediately upon the destruction of the
temple” (Smith, 1859:10). The prophesies also claimed that this
Messiah would be widely misunderstood and that people will not
66 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

recognise him. As Isaish 53:7 (KJV) states “He was oppressed,

and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter… he openeth not his mouth.” Secondly,
Jesus‟ teachings very much paralleled extant customs and
traditions and hence were relatable. Armstrong states “…faith
healers were familiar religious figures in Galilee: like Jesus, they
were mendicants, who preached, healed the sick and exorcised
demons…Certainly Jesus‟ teachings were largely in accord with
major tenets of the Pharisees, since they also believed in charity
and loving kindness… also taught a version of Hillel‟s Golden
Rule, „do unto others as you would have them do unto you‟”
(Armstrong, 1999[1993]:100). Aspects of continuity of previous
teachings that adhere to the Torah are also recounted in Matthew
5:17 (KJV) “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” Goodman
therefore remarks “none of his ideas would have been
incomprehensible or outlandish to his fellow Jews” (Hastings
edt., 1999:16). Other factors of attraction for early conversions to
the new faith discussed by Goodman include- a possible novelty
and exoticism of Christian communities, a support system
provided by these new communities4, an appeal of martyrdom5
and a „toleration‟ of mixed marriages6 (Hastings ed., 1999:19-20).
Rodney Stark has extensively discussed this novel yet widespread
practice of secondary conversions through mixed marriages
during the early centuries of the Common Era, particularly
emphasising on the role of women in the growth of early
Christianity (Stark, 1997:95-115). Scholars have suggested that
the early converts could have also comprised of socially
4
“By contrast the new Christian communities provided social support, mutual aid and
comfort from others whose own social identity also derived entirely from their
Christian identity” (Hastings ed., 1999:20).
5
“It is likely that converts were encouraged rather than discouraged by stories of
martyrdom: a knowledge that some had believed the Christian message to be of
sufficient importance to be worth dying for strengthened those who were compelled to
suffer lesser problems for their faith” (ibid).
6
“Christian toleration of mixed marriages (in the hope of the eventual conversion of
the non- Christian partner) made the social break more bearable for some” (ibid).
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 67

marginalised sections of the society. For instance, Henry

Chadwick makes the case of early conversions comprising of
slaves. He also suggests this as a strategy of conversion by the
early churches, as although there was a general consensus in early
Christian preaching that the domination of an individual by
another was wrong and Church funds were occasionally used to
buy emancipation of slaves, it never took up a programme to
abolish slavery (McManners ed. 2001:38).
Popularisation of early Christianity (or rather Chrisitanities)
through diverse regions and cultures provided room for equally
diverse opinions in the absence of a canonical literature. This was
facilitated by the now emerging hierarchies in the church (both
internal and external) which took up a collegial leadership. One of
the chronic difficulties that the early churches faced was the
ceaseless strife amongst its own adherents. This is perhaps
something that has not changed over the years, although various
attempts have been made under the leadership of several
dignitaries. It warns us against homogenising Christianity into a
single monolithic entity (as is the case with any other religion). In
the early centuries of the Common Era there were Gnostics,
Sabellians, Arians, Origenists, Platonists, Novatianists,
Adoptionists, Manichaeans and so on and so forth- all
preoccupied with a doctrinal „correctness‟. The canonization of
the New Testament and the increasing authority achieved by the
church (Rome in particular, inheriting the vestiges of the
gradually falling Roman Empire) was yet another remarkable
development of this new religion that propagated a consciousness
of belonging to a fellowship, the benefits of which was much
amplified by surmounting the barrier of the Greek language.
Ultimately, with Constantine‟s acceptance of Christianity and
Theodosius‟ declaring Christianity a state religion, one witnessed
an unprecedented power-relation between the „secular‟ and the
„spiritual‟ monarchs. It is then that what scholars call- a
„ruralisation‟ of Christianity takes place, climaxing with the
establishment of a hegemonic Catholicism in the late 5th century
68 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

CE (though the process could be seen from as early as the 2nd

century CE) where religious freedom was increasingly reduced,
so much so that, even the questioning of scriptures resulted in
excommunication. This gradual shift was visible in all socio-
cultural aspects, however, due to a limitation of space, this essay
elaborates on one of them- Festivals. Robert Markus mentions the
intense struggle of the early churches in trying to distance the
population from earlier „pagan‟ festivals which continued to be
celebrated in the now Christian Rome. Christianizing time was
indeed very gradual, as Markus states “…late Roman Bishops
worked slowly, by piecemeal additions and elaborations of
regularly recurrent observances, to define a new sacred time in
which the Christian life was to be wholly caught up, until the
sacred time of the old pagan past was slowly forgotten, or
emptied of its charge of religiosity” (McManners ed., 2001:76).
Many Pagan festivals were integrated by somehow Christianizing
their significance, including the birth of Christ which was
included into the solar calendar only by 300 CE. However,
towards late 5th century there grew a desperation with this
prolonged process. By about 430 CE, there was a rise of
unprecedented militant Christianity which led to massive
persecution of the so-called pagans, and by the mid-5th century
their population had severely reduced (McManners ed., 2001:41-
45). The last of the remaining pagans were ridiculed and shamed
into giving up their traditions. As Bishop Augustine had said for
the remaining pagans of Rome “We fast for them on their feast
days, so that they themselves might become the spectacle”
(McManners edt., 2001:76).
This essay has heretofore explored the major changes that
eventually succeed in institutionalizing Christianity as a victory.
There is however, another school of thought which views the
development of Christianity including Christ, as a Roman
creation. This paper will briefly discuss one of such works that
has been at the forefront of international debates in the last
decade- Ceaser’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 69

Jesus. This view suggests that the major changes incurred in the
early centuries of the Common Era are not remarkable feats of
Christianity, but are rather changes in the Roman politics and
power structure. The author, Joseph Atwill, traces the emergence
of Christianity within the geo-politics of the struggle and seize of
power of the Roman Empire by the Flavian Dynasty7 whose
reign, according to him, suspiciously coincided with the
formation of two major benign religious groups- Rabbinic
Judaism and Christianity.
The book paints a picture of the Roman Empire in decline
and marked by political power shifts from the Caesarean dynasty
to the Flavian, with the economy going bankrupt, endless wars
being fought and religious uprisings at its peak. Atwill gives
extensive examples of silent overlaps and parallels between the
Flavians and the gospel figures. According to him, a suspicion
arises when one compares the portrayal of society of the 1st
century Judaea in the Dead Sea scrolls to that of the Gospels.
Judaea in the 1st century was a war zone and the Dead Sea scrolls
depict a violent and militaristic scenario as opposed to that of a
pacifistic one depicted in the gospels (Atwill, 2011:18). He raises
doubt over the fact that the gospels had been written down in
Greek (the aristocratic diplomatic language of the time) as
opposed to Aramaic or Hebrew, as they should have been,
according to Atwill, if the authors were who they claimed to be.
He also states that both Jesus and Titus preached „Gospel‟
(Euaggelion in Greek), which literally meant “good news of a
Ceaser, particularly birth or a military victory” referring to the
same event of the destruction of Galilee (Atwill, 2011:150-151).
Furthermore, he states that a lot of Gospels talk about turning
away from the Jewish law and obeying the Roman law.

7
The Flavians, Vespasian and his son Titus were the famous military men under Nero
who had successfully quelled the Druid uprisings in Brittany and Gaul. Nero had
called the Flavians to deal with the never-ending rebellions in Judaea and in 66 CE
they marched into Judaea with about seventy thousand troops, destroying the town of
Galilee and demolished the temple of Jerusalem.
70 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

Questioning of scriptures is not unheard of, particularly when

it comes to the nature of Christ. Several scholars have commented
upon the benign nature of Jesus being at odds with the prophecy
of the Messiah (Prophecy of Micah) which had promised a
warrior messiah from the line of David. Atwill opines that the
creation of this benign messiah was a strategy to quell the endless
rebellions. Scholars have also remarked upon the nature of Christ
as something possibly created in retrospect, for instance Robert
Eisenman states that the nature of Jesus was a composite of many
of the Messianic leaders of the time. He writes “Nor can we say
that in the Gospels we do not have a composite re-creation of
facts and episodes relating to a series of Messianic pretenders in
Palestine in the first century, familiar from the works of Josephus,
interlaced or spliced into a narrative of a distinctly Hellenistic or
non-Palestinian, pro-Pauline cast” (Eisenman, 2019:iv).
Both Atwill and Eisenman regard Josephus Bar Mathias, (one
of the Roman Prisoners of War from Judaea, who later became a
historian of the Vespasian court and assumed the title, Titus
Flavius Josephus) as a key figure for understanding the early
Christian writings. Josephus in his accounts of the Jewish-Roman
wars, mention that all artefacts from the temple of Jerusalem
taken as spoils to Rome, were on public display except the Torah
scrolls and other religious literature, which were locked in the
private Flavian palace in Rome (Atwill, 2011:26-27). The
Flavians collaborated with a number of Jewish intellectuals apart
from Josephus, who later became an adopted member of the
Flavian family. Atwill states that it is noteworthy that the earliest
manuscripts of the New Testament included the history of
Josephus and claims that the major figures of early Christianity
were all related to the Flavians in some way or another, for e.g.
Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clements) who is credited
to have defined the first Christian symbols (Anchor, Olive
Branch, Fish, Boat, Star and so on and so forth) which were also
the symbols in the Flavian coins; Constantine (Flavius
Constantine), who made Christianity the state religion and Philo
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 71

of Alexandria, the esteemed Jewish theologian, who belonged to

the family of Alexanders of Egypt, one of the key families who
funded the Flavians. He points out that some of the earliest
Christian Saints of the Roman Catholic Church were even called
the „Christian Flavians‟, for instance, Flavia Domitilla and Pope
Flavius St. Clement IST to name a few.
Atwill‟s thesis argue that the gospels follow a much prevalent
art of writing, called „Typology‟ which is essentially like creating
archetypes, for instance, the „son of man‟ prophecies of Jesus-
that predicts three scenarios viz. the destruction of Galilee,
Jerusalem being walled and the destruction of the temple, (all
achieved by Titus Flavius), essentially created a stereotype much
like Hebraic typologies that were meant to connect all the
prophets. He further states that in the gospel of Matthew, events
from the Old Testament were in the same sequence in the Life of
Jesus Christ. Throughout his work, Atwill points out more than
forty parallels in the scriptures in terms of names, locations and
concepts, which he calls „the Flavian Signature of the Gospels’
and argues that Jesus was in fact created as an allegory for Titus
Flavius.
It is not the desire of this paper to present conclusions for or
against any of the schools of thoughts on the theme of early
Christianity, but to highlight the diversity of opinions on the
same, all of which I believe are important in their own way to
understand a broader picture. It is in no way meant to question
faith, but nevertheless, to encourage questions from an academic
point of view. There are several questions that remain
unanswered, for instance- if the gospels were indeed about the
Roman sentenced criminal, why weren‟t they destroyed? How did
strong Christian churches manage to emerge in Rome, the capital
city of the Empire, as early as 170 CE, if there was extensive
persecution? Why does the story of Jesus bear incredible
continuities with older „pagan‟ traditions? Scholars as the likes of
Timothy Freke in his work The Jesus Mysteries: was the original
Jesus a Pagan God? have explored precisely that. Eminent
72 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal

historians as the likes of Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch have

extensively explored the theme of „silences‟ in the history of
Christianity alone, in his work Silence: A Christian History. Yet
others have explored themes of „Othering‟, for instance the
inception of anti-Semitism8 around this time and wondered if in
fact the canonisation of Christian scriptures could have been a
political measure to rupture the unity of the Jews and incline a
section of them towards Rome? Whatever be the case, there is
definitely no doubt that all these developments, be it a crisis in the
form of Roman oppression, or a controversy in the form of
Roman creation, were vital in the survival of the religion
altogether. As Stark brilliantly puts it “had some crises not
occurred, the Christians would have been deprived of major,
possibly crucial opportunities” (Stark, 1997:93).

References
Andrews, E. (2017). Early Christianity in the First Century:
Jesus‟ Witnesses to the Ends of the Earth, Christian
Publishing House: Cambridge, Ohio
Armstrong, K. (1999[1993]). A History of God, Vintage Books:
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Atwill, J. (2011). Caesar‟s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to
Invent Jesus, CreatSpace: Charleston
Durant, W. (1935). The Story of Civilization: Ceaser and Christ, a
history of Roman Civilization and of Christianity from their
beginnings to AD 325, Simon and Schuster: New York
Eisenman, R. (2019). James the Brother of Jesus and the Dead
Sea Scrolls I: The historical James, Paul the Enemy and
Jesus‟ Brother as Apostles, The Way Publishing [originally
published by Penguin Books, as James the Brother of Jesus:

8
“Beginning with parts of the New Testament we find the early church fathers
depicting the Jews as stubborn and eventually as wicked” (Stark, 1997:50)
 Hekamtho || Syrian Orthodox Theological Journal 73

The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and

the Dead Sea Scrolls, 1997]
Ermatinger, J. (2007). Daily Life of Christians on Ancient Rome,
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Stark, R. (1997). The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure,
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Force in the Western World in a few Centuries,
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